Darcey’s brain dump on all sorts of things on her favorite subject….Money! Email: darcey.martin@d2dsolutions.com

New Section-Recipes…

We are going to start a new category, Recipes, please chime in with your favorite, easy, preferably cheaper recipes. In this tightening economy we have to be able to think easy, affordable, good. I was reading an article that a lady needs $50 per day in groceries for her family of four, wow, she needs to hook up with me, because there is no need to be spending that much money on 3 square meals per day. Now if you don’t think that is out of line, enlighten me. I guess I was raised by some pretty frugal parents and mom had some dosy of meals, but I lived, learned and took the good things and left the not so good things. Funny thing, my husband loves Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Tomato soup. I can stomach neither, but my kids both love them very much. So weekend lunches are taken care of for the family by Daddy. So try something old-fashioned, it just may catch on in your house. Another thing is Ramen noodles….I haven’t had those since I left college, well I was in the store walking past and this very pregnant woman was scanning and pulling packages off the shelf, I said, “I haven’t had those for years”, she said she couldn’t stop eating them since she got pregnant. So I picked up a couple of packages…..the kids and I loved them. You say that isn’t much of a meal….get the chicken kind, throw in some cubed left over chicken breasts and some frozen vegetables and you have a hearty meal, and balanced. Of course PB&J, Grilled cheese and egg salad sandwiches are always winners….can you tell I have small children. Oh, and those totino Party Time Pizzas, $1.25 each, hey don’t knock them until you try them, they can be addicting. Breakfast is even easier, butter and Jelly toast is a hit, as well as cereal. But on the weekends, the pancake mix comes out, we whip up some pancakes and scrambled eggs. If we have old bananas we throw those in for special pancakes. So now that I have filled in the “gap” meals with some ideas of what to make we will have to come up with some great, solid, affordable family meals. Stay tuned and add your own in under comments.